AUM: $49 billion
Employees: 75
At INTECH Investment Management LLC, a team approach fueled by openness makes everyone feel valued, said CEO and Chief Investment Officer Adrian Banner.
That openness is expected to extend across all levels at the company, with lower-level employees encouraged to speak up when they think there's a potential problem, Mr. Banner said.
"I am coding almost every day,'' Mr. Banner said of his work at the quantitative investment manager. "And if the people who report to me check my code and find a bug, then it's a real problem if they feel like saying that to me would bring reprisals.
"Far from it, it's really the opposite,'' he said. "I want people to say we could improve this, we could make this better."
A five-time winner in Pensions & Investments' Best Places to Work in Money Management program, INTECH also aims to create camaraderie among employees, which helps foster good relationships between workers in its two U.S. offices as well as a small London office, Mr. Banner said.
He said it also helps that the 12-person team in INTECH's Princeton, N.J., office and staff in its West Palm Beach, Fla., headquarters share the same time zone for timely video and phone conversations among employees. Nearby airports also offer frequent flights if in-person meetings are necessary.
Even employees who don't connect regularly see each other at the annual holiday party in Florida. Mr. Banner said the party is another way to bring the INTECH family together, a megabenefit since the company pays for airfare and hotel accommodation, even for the several employees in INTECH's London office.
Employees seem to appreciate the efforts.
"At INTECH I feel like I am part of a well-adjusted family — open, honest, accountable for my actions and rewarded for my good work," one employee said in the BPTW survey. "If I am struggling, I know I will get honest feedback and an opportunity to improve."